, excited by momentary sexual passion,
seduces a girl, makes her pregnant, and then disappears. He injures
his victim and himself without deriving any advantage. His action is
therefore negative, and is to be condemned both from the ethical and
the egoistic point of view.

(2). Through motives of religious morality, a virtuous girl marries a
depraved drunkard in order to save him. This rarely succeeds, and if
it does it is generally incomplete. From the egoistic point of view
this experiment is exclusively negative. From the altruistic point of
view the motives are, it is true, very positive, but the social
effects are still more negative. If all goes well, our virtuous and
exalted girl will succeed in improving the drunkard, but if she
procreates children, she will have unconsciously sinned against them,
and her good action will result in the sins of the father being
visited on the children.

(3). A man with marked hereditary taints, impulsive, psychopathic and
possessed of a strong sexual appetite, marries an honest girl of good
family, and has several children by her. Such an action is positive
from the egoistic point of view, for the individual in question
benefits himself. From the ethical point of view, it is negative, for
it makes an honest woman unhappy, and probably leads to the
procreation of children of bad quality.

(4). A man, healthy in body and mind, capable, hardworking and full of
ideals, finds a suitable companion. Instead of leading an easy life,
they both undertake as much work as possible, especially social
duties, and procreate at sufficient intervals as many children as they
can without injury to the health of the wife. This is an ideal
combination of positive altruism with positive egoism.

It is not every one who has the good fortune to fulfill the conditions
necessary for this combination. A positive sexual morality is,
however, by no means excluded in less favorable conditions. Certain
psychopathic or feeble individuals may contract sterile marriages in
the manner previously indicated, and may recompense themselves for the
absence of children by devoting themselves all the more to social
duties, or to the education of abandoned orphans.

When a union is concluded between a person who is capable in all
respects, and another who is not, the latter should give the other
permission to procreate children by a third party, more adapted to
give rise to healthy offspring. Although this is immora